


Just you and me

by kuhaperuna



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid
Genre: Character Death, Ethan and Hannah against the world, Ethan doesn't know how to cope, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Sorry, In which Lex dies instead of Ethan and Ethan takes Hannah to California, Mourning (kind of), Road Trips, lex is dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:00:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26408365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuhaperuna/pseuds/kuhaperuna
Summary: Hannah had said only one thing after the shit went down, with teary eyes and shaking hands. “It was supposed to be you. Not her, you, she shot her and we came out, everything burned. It was supposed to be you.” Ethan didn’t know what it meant. Probably another thing the damn spider had told her.But Hannah’s nonsense was the least of Ethan’s worries. They didn’t have a Wiggly — he doubted anyone did, at this point —, he had spent all his savings on fixing up the car, and Lex…Ethan blocked the thought. He had to drive.
Relationships: Hannah Foster & Ethan Green, Lex Foster/Ethan Green
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	Just you and me

Ethan glanced at Hannah for possibly the hundredth time within the last five minutes. She was still wearing the old hat Ethan had given him. She didn’t look particularly sad or angry, which Ethan supposed made sense because she rarely did. He wished she would at least say something, though. He couldn’t stand silence.

Hannah had said only one thing after the shit went down, with teary eyes and shaking hands. “It was supposed to be you. Not her, you, she shot her and we came out, everything burned. It was supposed to be you.” Ethan didn’t know what it meant. Probably another thing the damn spider had told her.

But Hannah’s nonsense was the least of Ethan’s worries. They didn’t have a Wiggly — he doubted anyone did, at this point —, he had spent all his savings on fixing up the car, and Lex…

Ethan blocked the thought. He had to drive. He had to get Hannah someplace warm and safe with food and water. He couldn’t… He couldn’t fucking cry. Not in front of Hannah, not when everything was his fault in the first place. He should never have talked Lex into stealing that goddamn doll.

“You hungry, Banana?” Ethan asked quietly. They had been driving for two, maybe two and a half hours. He wasn’t sure. They hadn’t eaten anything but a bag of potato chips and some frozen solid chocolate bars Ethan had found in the glove box. Hannah might not have said anything but Ethan had heard her belly groaning hungrily a few times.

“A little,” Hannah said after a moment of consideration.

“There’s a diner coming up. We can get some burgers, yeah?” Ethan said and smiled weakly. Hannah nodded.

There indeed was a diner. It was your typical grimy American dump with sticky tables and lukewarm staff. The windows were all fogged up and there was a bland smell of cigarette smoke, but it was warmer than the car and most importantly, Ethan could smell and hear sizzling bacon.

They sat at an empty booth — which was easy to find, because it was almost 2AM — and a tired looking waitress brought them stained menus. She was chewing a gum that Ethan guessed had gone stale ages ago, and she wore her hair in a disastrous bun that was nearly undone. A tag on her breast said: ‘Lucy.’

“Can I get’ya anything to drink?” she asked in an impossibly monotone voice.

“Cokes, thanks,” Ethan said because as tight as his budget was, he couldn’t bring himself to drink water. He really needed to work out that soda addiction.

After Lucy left to get their cokes, Hannah showed Ethan her menu and pointed at ‘Bobbie’s Special’, which wasn’t that special at all; a cheeseburger, fries, a dip (There were a whopping three to choose from.) and, for an extra dollar, a milkshake.

“You want milkshake with that?” Ethan asked. Hannah nodded. Ethan returned the nod and turned back to his own menu. He’d have to get just a burger for himself. Not a big deal. He wasn’t that hungry, anyway.

When Lucy came back with their drinks and took their orders, she asked: “Bit late for burgers, is it not?”

“Family road trip,” Ethan said in a rehearsed, carefree voice. “My little sister here got a craving but the old man didn’t wanna bother.”

“I see,” Lucy said, not entirely convinced. She didn’t bother them any more though.

As they waited for their food, Ethan plugged his charger into a socket below the table and turned his phone back on. No messages. He usually had at least one or two texts from Lex every time he looked at it. She liked to complain about customers at work and send him memes. Now the only notifications on his cracked screen were a reminder to drink water (Lex had downloaded the app for him, but it honestly hadn’t made him drink any more.) and a notification from some game he hadn’t opened in weeks but hadn’t been bothered to remove.

Ethan opened his browser and cringed at the page he’d left open. (He hadn’t _really_ been planning on buying a ring, he had just been curious to look at the prices…) He quickly tapped the search bar and typed in: ‘Motels near me.’

There were three within his steadily declining price range. Two looked so shady he refused to even consider bringing Hannah to them. The third one wasn’t close at all and was fully booked, anyway. Ethan considered, not for the first time that night, just heading back to Hatchetfield and bringing Hannah to her mom. But… now that Lex was gone, Hannah would have no chance living with her mom. She’d end up in the system, or worse. As shitty as things were, she was better off with Ethan for now.

“What do you say about sleeping in the car tonight, hm? It’ll be like camping,” he suggested casually.

“There are monsters,” Hannah said quietly.

Ethan bit his cheek. He loved the kid, but god… For just one night, this first night, he wished she could let him off a little easier. “There won’t be any. You’ve got the magic hat, right? Nothing’s gonna harm you. I’ll have the doors locked and keep one eye open the whole night,” he promised.

Hannah didn’t have time to answer before Lucy returned. She put Hannah’s food and shake in front of her and even flashed a polite smile at the girl. She didn’t have one to spare for Ethan, though, which wasn’t surprising. Adults had never liked Ethan very much.

“Dig in, Banana,” Ethan said, and Hannah did just that. She must have been even hungrier than Ethan had suspected because she started wolfing down the food like it was her first meal in weeks. Ethan really had to get better at reading her, or she’d starve to death before they could reach California.

Ethan wasn’t sure why they were going to California anymore. It had always been Lex’s dream to go out there and become an actress. Ethan had decided to follow because… Well, he didn’t have any dreams of his own. Lex had been good enough for him and wherever she went, he would follow. Besides, California had sounded wonderful compared to Hatchetfield. Long sandy beaches, palm trees, cold drinks with little umbrellas in them… That’s what a dream sounds like, right?

Ethan was no actor, though, nor was he a comedian. He could carry a tune but he was no rock star. He had no ambitions or passions. He was a small town high school dropout with a shitty car and a traumatised kid to take care of. There was nothing for him in California.

“Look, uh…” Ethan said. “I’ve got a buddy in Detroit we could maybe crash with for a while. He’s a little weird but we wouldn’t have to sleep in a car for a bit.”

“Why is he weird?” Hannah asked through a mouthful of fries.

“Well, not in a bad way. He’s just, uh, unique,” Ethan said.

“Okay,” Hannah said. “Are we still going to California, though?”

“I don’t know, Banana. Do you still wanna go?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

“Then we’ll go.”

They finished their burgers and fries — Hannah gave Ethan some of hers, which he appreciated very much — and slurped their cokes until Ethan’s phone was done charging. Then Ethan paid and tipped even though he couldn’t really afford to, and they headed back to the car.

The night had grown colder and fat snowflakes were falling rapidly from the sky. A nearly full moon stared at them behind heavy clouds.

“It’s just you and me against the world, yeah?” Ethan said and reached out his hand. Hannah took it and nodded. They could do this.

**Author's Note:**

> LOOK, I CAN EXPLAIN--
> 
> I just wanted to write something really sappy and cliché and I loved Ethan and Hannah's relationship in Black Friday so here we are. I'll probably just leave this as a one shot because I don't have an actual plot for this but hey, if I ever come up with one I might continue.


End file.
